While most students were busy making the most of the last week of summer, Brock’s newest teacher candidates were getting a head start on the academic year.

Fifth-year Concurrent Teacher Education and first-year Consecutive Teacher Education students kicked off the year with orientation sessions and regular classes at both the Hamilton and St. Catharines campuses last week.

Teacher candidates complete weekly internships and an extended placement in schools during the year. Because these placements are tied to school schedules, teacher candidates begin the year earlier to ensure enough time for in-class and experiential learning.

This practical experience is something students are excited about.

Alyssa Mihail, a fifth-year Concurrent Teacher Education student, waits outside the David S. Howes Theatre for the Beginning of Program orientation presentation.

“There’s a lot going on,” says Alyssa Mihail, a fifth-year Concurrent Teacher Education student who describes herself as nervous about starting year five of the program. “But, it’s exciting because we’re actually going to be doing placement more and actually teaching lessons ourselves.”

Mihail plans to teach primary/junior students (Grades K-6).

This week’s formal Beginning of Program orientation sessions welcomed students to the professional expectations they’ll uphold as teachers. Students were also introduced to safety and emergency preparedness information as well as Faculty of Education resources, such as the Instructional Resource Centres.

In total, more than 500 of them had a chance to meet peers, faculty and key support staff while learning more about their programs.

During orientation, teacher candidates also met with their new cohort groups.

Cohorts are collaborative communities for teacher candidates led by practicum advisors. These groups will provide support for teacher candidates and help them connect theory to practice as they learn to teach in Ontario classrooms.

“Meeting as a cohort at the beginning of the program allows teacher candidates to build this support network early,” says Kamini Jaipal-Jamani, Director of Teacher Education at Brock.  “Many of them are anxious about getting started, but they’re also passionate about their future careers.”

Teacher candidates participated in their first professional development sessions throughout the week, a hallmark of Brock’s Teacher Education programs, and attended an orientation with the Ontario College of Teachers.

These new teacher candidates will be joined by almost 250 second-year, Consecutive Teacher Education students the week of Sept. 4.

First-year Consecutive Teacher Education students meet in their cohort group during orientation at the Hamilton Campus on Aug. 28.